Is Direct Primary Care Worth It?
Direct Primary Care sounds excellent…until you start thinking about the budget. So, the real question is Direct Primary Care worth it? Insurance costs an arm and a leg already—and now my doctor is asking me to pay more?
Not necessarily. Consider switching to a high deductible insurance plan with a Health Savings Account (HSA). This gives you coverage for those unexpected events, while the HSA funds can used to pay for routine healthcare related expenses such as labs and medications.
By switching to a more affordable insurance plan, that covers services outside of Integrate Internal Medicine, such as specialist referrals, hospital-based procedures, ER visits, hospitalizations, surgery, etc. multiple bases are covered.
Couple this with the value-added services of Integrate Internal Medicine, and the real benefits become clear:
- Office visits as needed, $0 copays (Comprehensive Wellness Membership)
- Longer appointments, average 30-40 minutes each
- Direct communication via phone, text, email, and video chat
- Personalized care from your doctor who knows you
- Access to our in-house pharmacy with reduced-cost medications
- Access to our in-house lab draws at a reduced fee
- In-office procedures—such as joint injections, laceration repair, skin tag removal, EKG’s and more—are included at no additional cost
Direct Primary Care clinics, such as Integrate Internal Medicine, have decided to opt-out of Insurance, including Medicare. This means that your insurance should never be billed for services rendered within clinic. That said, the value and savings by avoiding co-pays, reduced cost medications and labs, all while having more time from your personal physician who knowns you, is invaluable.
So, is it worth it? That’s up to you. Consider what you are getting now for your monthly insurance premiums and compare that to the value of Direct Primary Care. Most patients find that Direct Primary Care is worth it and I hope you will too!
Join us in this exciting journey together, where our mission is your health.
We’d love to care for you. Learn more about becoming a member of our practice here.
